- A cheap-to-produce replacement for many types of plastics will be developed. It will consist of microscopic interlocking, organically grown carbon structures

- A cheap-to-produce replacement for many types of plastics will be developed. It will consist of microscopic interlocking, organically grown carbon structures that can be combined to give the final material whatever plasticity or strength is needed for an application. The material will need to be milled. Some formulations will be very heat resistant, hard and durable. Genetically modified organisms will produce the microscopic structures. - Data will become the new plutonium. - Gen-X'ers in the states will be the first generation to get the bad news that Social Security and Medicare will be slashed and to expect "less than 15%" of what the previous generations received. This will be in response to a major debt crisis and gen-x will roll over without much protest. Millennials too. - Some US companies will start experimenting with 4 day work weeks, with the caveat that internet and phones be severely curtailed or even outright banned in the workplace in an attempt to goose productivity. Some workers will demand lots of break time so they can escape to get their social media fix. - No public manned Mars nor lunar missions.